[5] Grade 11: Kyoto Preliminaries
The next day.
Unlike the sparse crowds during the group stage matches, the stadium was now packed, a stark contrast to the stands on the first day of the tournament.
It's like there's a bug with the copy and paste button in the game, causing countless individual humans to be copied and pasted at once, and also including any extra people that were accidentally added.
The combined attendance for the semi-finals and quarter-finals over the past two days wasn't as high as it is today.
"Wow, so many people!" A middle-aged audience member in the middle of the performance at the Heming Pavilion exclaimed. "If we had come any later, we might not have gotten any seats."
"Many people don't really know much about volleyball; they're just here to see Heming Hall," said one of my companions. "Yesterday at dinner, I mentioned the names of the two schools in the finals, and my mother kept pestering me to come. If I hadn't told her there was a broadcast and she could just watch it on TV, she probably would have dragged her old arms and legs all the way here."
"After all, it's a battle between established powerhouses and rising college students," a middle-aged spectator joked.
"Do you mean volleyball or something else?"
"Is it okay to interpret it in any way?"
The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
After exchanging greetings at the net, the players from Tachibana Yamazaki and Tsurumeikan entered their respective halves of the court to warm up.
"That's strange." Yamazaki Tachibana, the outside hitter, raised her left and right knees alternately, doing high knees at a steady pace, and said to the setter next to her, "I don't think I saw the captain of Tsurumeikan in last night's videotape."
Coach Tachibana Yamazaki stood behind him and said quietly, "He has never played a game."
Players typically only focus on the opposing team's performance when watching game tapes. The captain of the Heming volleyball team, however, remained largely unnoticed as he sat on the bench.
The main attacker was startled by the sudden noise and almost tripped over his own feet during warm-up, nearly falling into a volleyball match. (Video of embarrassing moments from the match)
The setter helplessly helped the star attacker, who was feigning fear and clinging to him.
Tachibana Yamazaki walked around to the front of them and glared at the ace he had poached from the drama club.
The main attacker immediately stood up straight and continued the warm-up exercises meticulously.
"The information I just received from a few old men is that the captain of the Crane Cry Pavilion is a first-year student."
The nearby players all turned to look at them with astonishment.
"Huh?" The ace attacker's eyes widened at this. "Can a freshman become the captain?"
"Is he the Akashi Seijuro of volleyball? Is he going to beat us and challenge for the IH national championship?"
A teammate on the other side remarked, "Isn't Akashi Seijuro only a vice-captain when he was a first-year student?"
The setter calmly asked, "What position does he play?"
“Like you, he’s also a setter.” Coach Yamazaki Tachibana frowned, every wrinkle on his face filled with seriousness. “And, his jersey number is 1.”
Coach Yamazaki Tachibana analyzed the tactics with the players last night, explaining that the numbers on the Tsurumeikan team don't have any special meaning; they are simply ranked according to ability.
—The outstanding performance of libero #5 overshadowed the blocking ability of middle blocker #4, but #4's performance in the front row was equally impressive and should not be underestimated. Outside hitter #8, middle blocker #9, and outside hitter #10 are all first-choice starters...
"And the setter who has always been assigned to the starting lineup is only number 12." The setter repeated the coach's words.
All the doubts and questions from last night have vanished.
Given the setter's ability shown in the videotape, it would be reasonable for him to be a substitute setter for the final team.
Considering Coach Yamazaki's analysis yesterday, the jersey worn by the captain of the Tsurumeikan team suddenly became extremely terrifying.
To the Yamazaki Tachibana team members, the entire half of the Tsurumeikan stadium was shrouded in a thick, dark fog, and the source of this eerie fog was—
After unexpectedly making eye contact with setter Yamazaki Tachibana, the captain of the Tsurumeikan Golden-Eyed Setter team wore a gentle (wicked) smile.
"So number 1 is their ace captain?" Yamazaki Tachibana's ace asked.
"If that's the case, it's going to be a bit tricky. Even without our captain playing, the rest of the team has managed to lead us to the finals. What if our captain does play? Won't we get completely crushed?"
The supervisor's expression relaxed slightly upon hearing this: "It's not necessarily true. Just like you mentioned Akashi, the captain of Tsurumeikan, his surname is Imadegawa."
The setter understood perfectly.
"Huh? You watch Jump too, Supervisor?" Ace quickly veered off-topic.
The supervisor glared at him again, slightly annoyed: "I also have children the same age as you."
"Men die young." The ace raised his hands in a standard surrender pose, his eyes twitching wildly as he blinked at the supervisor, as if to say, "I understand, I understand, you don't need to explain."
The supervisor gave up glaring at this clown.
He turned to the other team members and instructed them: "No matter what, remember to keep a close eye on things and don't let your guard down."
"Don't underestimate them just because they are a new school. No school that makes it to the finals is easy."
"yes!!!"
Yamazaki Tachibana and the rest of the group responded in unison.
——————
Yamazaki Tachibana truly lives up to his reputation as a Kyoto volleyball powerhouse; he's much tougher to beat than the top four teams in the previous match.
Saotome Chihaya glanced at her own team's bench out of the corner of her eye.
Unlike the previous two matches, Tsurumeikan fielded all of its main players in the second game against Yamazaki Tachibana.
...except for one person.
"As expected of a top-tier school." Imadegawa Yuzuru on the bench shared the same thought as Saotome on the field.
As a school in Kyoto Prefecture that consistently ranks among the top schools nationwide, Yamazaki Tachibana is in a completely different league from their previous rivals.
The little chubby bird stood on his shoulder.
"Saotome will have a hard time handling this alone," Little Chubby said objectively. "She played terribly in the first game."
A few minutes earlier, the first game between Tsurumeikan and Yamazaki Tachibana ended with Yamazaki Tachibana leading 19-25.
Yamazaki Tachibana clearly studied them carefully. Whenever Saotome was in the back row, the serves and spikes would generally avoid his position, allowing the other players from Tsurumeikan to save the ball first.
Saotome responded quickly. He was originally standing in position 5 at the corner of the back row, but after Yamazaki Tachibana repeatedly spiked the ball to position 1 on the other side of the back row, he decisively switched to position 6 in the middle of the back row during the rotation.
In the first set, he ran, leaped, and rolled with all his might, managing to save one ball after another.
However, Tachibana Yamazaki's targeted tactical arrangements still managed to widen the score gap significantly.
Little Chubby asked nervously, "Did he go too far? He seems a bit out of sorts."
"That's why I put all the SRs in the starting lineup."
Now, as he leaves Sichuan, he rests his chin on his hand.
After a bad breakup with Saotome Chihaya yesterday, the two faced each other again today. Saotome looked at him as if she didn't want to talk to him, and every time they made eye contact during warm-up, she would immediately stiffen her neck and turn her face away.
Just before Imadegawa went to the referee to confirm the final starting lineup after warming up, the libero hurriedly stopped him and awkwardly asked to start in the first game.
In the original tactical arrangement, Saotome and Aoyagi were supposed to be substituted in the second game.
The usually decisive Captain Golden Eyes surprisingly granted the free agent's request with leniency.
The little chubby bird chirped excitedly and flew around him several times. It only stopped completely when Imadegawa pinched its head and squeezed its incessantly chattering little beak.
Let's return to this moment.
Imadegawa added casually to Kotsuna, "The loss in the last game was understandable. Now we have two SSRs and four SRs on the field. If we can't win this game, what's the point of competing in the national tournament in July?"
......
...What's the point of me competing in the national tournament if I can't win this game?!
Saotome Chihaya leaped forward.
The red, green and white volleyball, spinning wildly, landed on his arm.
"Beautiful!!! Hemingguan No. 5 made another perfect diving save! He successfully saved the ball that was almost ruled out of bounds by the block!"
The narrator's voice flashed past Saotome's ears.
...If this goal can't save me, what kind of free agent am I?!?!
Those chaotic thoughts were a fire to Saotome, hanging high in his heart like a fireball that never falls (TbGs), bright, savage, and dangerous.
At that moment, the fireball erupted, and the raging wildfire that flew out ignited the barren and chaotic grassland in his heart.
The pervasive panic was about to set him ablaze, burning from his heart to his lungs, and then spreading outwards layer by layer, engulfing his internal organs, limbs, and bones, igniting his flesh and soul completely.
For Saotome, panic was like wildfire on the grassland, burning him out and giving him new life.
This wildfire made him omnipotent.
......
"...This game was like a tug-of-war, with the score going back and forth, but in the end, Hemingguan had the upper hand."
"The libero from Heming Hall played a crucial role in this set, securing the serve advantage for player number 4 with a steady first pass and extremely dangerous saves, ultimately leading to Heming Hall's victory by 3 points!!!"
Break between games.
Despite successfully turning the tide against last year's top 16 in the nation, the Heming Hall team members still showed no signs of excitement.
They silently wiped their sweat, drank water, and leaned against the bench to replenish their energy.
Saotome Chihaya sat cross-legged next to the bench chair, leaning her head back against Imadegawa's knees.
An inexplicable emotion emanated from Saotome's soul, and the windows of her heart glowed with a faint, purplish-red light.
The flames completely engulfed the freeman, and then tried to burn through his eyes towards the golden-eyed captain who controlled him.
A gentle smile graced Imadegawa's eyes.
He was generous with his praise—
"You did a great job."
Summer always arrives early in Kyoto, and by the end of June the air is already hotter than in other prefectures.
To ensure the players' performance on the field, the Kyoto Prefectural Gymnasium kept the temperature inside at 22 degrees Celsius.
The captain of Heming Hall, who is always sensitive to the cold, was wearing the white volleyball team uniform jacket as he had in previous matches, just like in the previous ones. As he lowered his head, the bright red crane emblem of Heming Hall on his jacket was gently brushed against the ends of his bright red hair.
At the same time, he gently stroked the freeman's head, as if rewarding him—
"I will play in the next game."
————————
Haya has quite serious psychological problems. Although Aoyagi usually clings to Kozuru more, as the first passer, Haya also relies on Kozuru quite a bit.
After defeating Yamazaki Tachibana, it's time to head to Aichi Prefecture for the IH National Championship! Speaking of Aichi Prefecture, does anyone think of anyone? ww
The confirmed opponents for IH National are Inarisaki, with Itayama, Shiratorizawa, Furutani, and Tomi as potential candidates...
The main purpose of attacking Inarizaki is to introduce the spring high school storyline for first-year students. There's a particular storyline in the outline that I really like this year's spring high school section.
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